Team: Iran

Hope is better than political paranoia

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Coach: Branko Ivankovic
Captain: Ali Daei
Winners: Never - yet to reach the second round
Pitted against: Mexico, Angola and Portugal
Prospects: Not good, their game with Angola should dictate who finishes bottom
Odds: 500-1

Far from headline makers in a football sense, but rather more vociferous on the political front, Iran return to the World Cup stage following their play-off defeat to Mick McCarthy's Republic of Ireland ahead of the 2002 finals in Japan and Korea, writes Paul O'Hehir

Croatian manager Branko Ivankovic has won-over doubting fans following his appointment in 2002. He served as assistant to Miroslav Blazevic but when the latter resigned following that defeat to Ireland, he made the step up to manager and has rebuilt the squad with Germany in mind.

Indeed, Ivankovic is seen as a more grounded leader than his predecessor who, not long before his team faced McCarthy's side in a two-leg play-off, boasted that Iran was among the top teams in the world.

"Anyone who is not admitting this fact," bellowed Blazevic at the time, "is either blind, doesn't know anything about football, or is trying to destroy us."

Long since rid of such paranoia, Iran have impressively set out their stall, ticking off the boxes for what is ultimately a long-term strategy. The players quickly warmed to Ivankovic and the manager used his influence when luring star striker Vahid Hashemian out of a self-imposed exile.

Hashemian, along with Hamburg's Mehdi Mahdavika, veteran striker Ali Daei, a former Hertha Berlin favourite, and playmaker Ali Karimi, form the platform from which Iran will formulate their gameplan. Daei, now 37, has scored more international goals (107) than any player in history and will hope the 'aul legs hold true for what could well be his swan-song.

The current team is widely considered the best in Iranian history and morale lifting results at the Azadi Stadium - where they can sometimes shoehorn in 120,000 supporters - ensures Iran travels full of hope. However, their World Cup record - only two appearances - boasts just the one victory (against the USA in France '98) and Ivankovic's side will find Portugal and Mexico particularly stubborn group opponents.

The current players stress they'll not let 'affairs of the nation' distract them from the task at hand but three former Iranian stars recently claimed Iran could try exploit the World Cup to spread misinformation about exiled groups opposed to the Tehran government.

The players, who represented their country in the 1970s, are members of an exiled opposition organisation. They criticised the German government for signing a security accord with Iran which, they claim, would restrict peaceful demonstrations during the tournament.

"Don't let the Iranian regime misuse the World Cup in the same way that Hitler did with the Olympic Games in 1936," said Hassan Nayeb-Agha - who played for Iran at the 1978 World Cup.

There had been calls in Germany to ban Iran from the tournament after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad labelled the Holocaust a myth and said Israel should be "wiped off the map". German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the remarks were unacceptable but she opposed banning the team.

World Cup Squad

Goalkeepers: Ebrahim Mirzapour (Foolad Khuzestan), Vahid Talebloo (Esteghlal Teheran), Hassan Roudbarian (Pas)
Defenders: Yahya Golmohammadi (Saba Battery), Mohammad Nosrati (Pas), Rahman Rezaei (AC Messina), Sattar Zare (Bargh Shiraz), Hossein Kaabi (Foolad Khuzestan), Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh (Saba Battery), Amir Hossein Sadeqi (Esteghlal Teheran)
Midfielders: Javad Nekounam (Sharjah/VAE), Anderanik Teymourian (Abomoslem Khorasan), Mehdi Mahdavikia (Hamburg SV), Fereydoon Zandi (Kaiserslautern), Ali Karimi (Bayern Munich), Mehrzad Madanchi (Persepolis), Javad Kazemian (Persepolis)
Forwards: Ali Daei (Saba Battery), Vahid Hashemian (Hannover 96), Reza Enayati (Esteghlal Teheran), Arash Borhani (Pas), Masoud Shojai (Saipa), Rasoul Khatibi (Sepahan Isfahan)